12-28-2009, 01:27 PM
New York, December 28 -- A blue moon will adorn the sky on New Yearââ¬â¢s Eve. A blue moon on a New Yearââ¬â¢s Eve is a rarity. It last happened in 1990 and the next will happen in 2028
This does not mean that the color of the moon will be blue. Rather, a second full moon in a month will light the night sky, a phenomenon called blue moon.
Blue moon is a ââ¬Åjust a colloquial term, which means very, very rareââ¬Â, says Conrad Jung, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland.
The most literal definition of blue moon is when the moon turns blue in color. A moon is sometimes seen with a bluish tint. It is due to the smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere caused by volcano eruption and forest fires.
After the forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and after the massive eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, the moon appeared blue in color.
Understanding the phenomenon
Blue moon is an event of timing. A full moon occurs after every 29.5 days. If there is a full moon early in the month, there is a possibility that a second full moon will appear at the end of the month.
This occurrence takes place nearly after two years. Two full moons in a month last appeared in June 2007, when sky gazers witnessed one on June 1, and the other on June 30.
Two full moons in one month will now appear on Aug. 2 and Aug. 31 in 2012.
A blue moon on a New Yearââ¬â¢s Eve is a rarity. It last happened in 1990 and the next will happen in 2028.
A change in definition
Historically, moons were given folk names like Harvest Moon (October), the Old Moon (January) and the Egg Moon (April). The origin of the term blue moon and its meaning has changed over time.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Maine Farmersââ¬â¢ Almanac described the blue moon differently. According to them, a blue moon was the third full moon in a season, which had four full moons.
Each moon in a season had a name. The first moon of summer was called early summer moon, second was named midsummer moon, the last was called late summer moon. If there were four moons in summer then the third was called blue moon and the last was still called late summer noon.
This definition of blue moon was changed by mistake. In 1946, a writer for Sky and Telescope, in an article named ââ¬ËOnce in a Blue Moon ââ¬â¢, misinterpreted the Maine Farmersââ¬â¢ Almanac's use of the phrase.
He defined the full moon as the second full moon in the month. Thus, this meaning became popular.
http://www.themoneytimes.com/featured/20...95278.html
This does not mean that the color of the moon will be blue. Rather, a second full moon in a month will light the night sky, a phenomenon called blue moon.
Blue moon is a ââ¬Åjust a colloquial term, which means very, very rareââ¬Â, says Conrad Jung, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland.
The most literal definition of blue moon is when the moon turns blue in color. A moon is sometimes seen with a bluish tint. It is due to the smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere caused by volcano eruption and forest fires.
After the forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and after the massive eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, the moon appeared blue in color.
Understanding the phenomenon
Blue moon is an event of timing. A full moon occurs after every 29.5 days. If there is a full moon early in the month, there is a possibility that a second full moon will appear at the end of the month.
This occurrence takes place nearly after two years. Two full moons in a month last appeared in June 2007, when sky gazers witnessed one on June 1, and the other on June 30.
Two full moons in one month will now appear on Aug. 2 and Aug. 31 in 2012.
A blue moon on a New Yearââ¬â¢s Eve is a rarity. It last happened in 1990 and the next will happen in 2028.
A change in definition
Historically, moons were given folk names like Harvest Moon (October), the Old Moon (January) and the Egg Moon (April). The origin of the term blue moon and its meaning has changed over time.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Maine Farmersââ¬â¢ Almanac described the blue moon differently. According to them, a blue moon was the third full moon in a season, which had four full moons.
Each moon in a season had a name. The first moon of summer was called early summer moon, second was named midsummer moon, the last was called late summer moon. If there were four moons in summer then the third was called blue moon and the last was still called late summer noon.
This definition of blue moon was changed by mistake. In 1946, a writer for Sky and Telescope, in an article named ââ¬ËOnce in a Blue Moon ââ¬â¢, misinterpreted the Maine Farmersââ¬â¢ Almanac's use of the phrase.
He defined the full moon as the second full moon in the month. Thus, this meaning became popular.
http://www.themoneytimes.com/featured/20...95278.html
